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Coast Guard Cutter Healy crewmembers make contact with a mariner aboard his 36-foot sailboat trapped in Arctic ice approximately 40 miles northeast of Barrow, Alaska, July 12, 2014. Coast Guard 17th District watchstanders in Juneau were contacted by North Slope Borough Search and Rescue that a man, sailing his sailboat from Vancouver, Canada, to eastern Canada via the Northwest Passage, needed assistance after his vessel had become trapped in the ice.
U.S. Coast Guard

A man attempting to sail his 36-foot sailboat through the Northwest Passage was rescued by a U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Saturday after his boat became trapped in Arctic sea ice northeast of Barrow.

The Coast Guard cutter Healy broke a 12-mile path through ice to reach the sailboat Altan Girl about 40 miles from Barrow, the Coast Guard said in a news release Sunday. The Healy was diverted from a research mission to respond to the sailboat.

The Coast Guard did not release the rescued man’s name, but the Nome Nugget’s June 26 “Dock Walk” column described the Altan Girl as a “Canadian-Turkish sailing vessel."

The Altan Girl started its voyage in Vancouver, Canada, and is attempting to reach eastern Canada via the Arctic Ocean, the Coast Guard said.

“The Healy crew conducted a safety inspection of the mariner’s vessel to ensure the vessel was seaworthy and that all the required safety equipment was on board,” the Coast Guard said in a news release. “The mariner intends to sail to Barrow to resupply and await safer weather conditions before continuing his journey.”